1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a knee protection airbag apparatus enabled so that an airbag to be expanded and inflated by blowing an inflating gas thereinto can protect knees of an occupant.
2. Related Art
Hitherto, there has been an apparatus for protecting a knee of an occupant, which has a configuration wherein a casing, which accommodates a folded airbag and an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to an airbag, is placed below a lower part of a column cover, which is provided beneath a steering column, to thereby cover a casing opening with an airbag cover (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-10-315894.).
In such a kind of an airbag apparatus, interior components, such as a lower panel of an instrument panel, are disposed around the airbag cover. According to a certain vehicle design, only an airbag system may be disposed below the lower panel.
Further, it is preferable that an airbag cover of an airbag apparatus is fixed to a casing so firmly as to withstand a force applied thereto during the inflation of an airbag.
However, in the case that the casing is fixed to a predetermined place in the vehicle, an airbag cover is sometimes mounted therein in a state in which an assembling error in assembling the airbag cover to an interior component occurs. In such a case, there are fears that a step-like portion or a gap may be caused between the airbag cover and the interior component, and that thus the external appearance of the airbag apparatus may be deteriorated.